Tallahassee Democrat sports writers Corey Clark, Wayne McGahee III and Jordan Culver offer their thoughts on this week’s three questions pertaining to FSU and college football.

1. FSU QB James Blackman has earned praise from coaches and teammates the past three weeks. It’s time to answer the bell. How do you think he plays in Saturday’s home opener against N.C. State?

Corey: It’s hard to really have an opinion. We know absolutely nothing about him – other than he’s tall and skinny. I have a feeling he’ll play pretty well because Jimbo Fisher typically does a good job with young quarterbacks of simplifying the game plan and not putting too much pressure on them. From all accounts Blackman is a natural leader and isn’t the type of kid to be overwhelmed. He’s also had three weeks now knowing he’s the starting quarterback. I assume that will help. And I assume he’ll play relatively well today – but will obviously make a few inexplicably bad decisions. That’s just natural for a true freshman making his first start. He just has to make sure they’re not game-changing mistakes.

Wayne: I think he plays well. I think the players around him will help him out, and he will take advantage of the superior talent that FSU has around him. N.C. State’s front seven is very good, but the FSU offensive line held up well against a better Alabama defensive front. If the OL can give him time, I think he’ll have a solid first start.

Jordan: Despite the mountains of praise he’s received, I think he’ll play like a freshman quarterback. Which means we’ll see a healthy dose of FSU’s running game and he’ll make plenty of, “Oh man why did he do that?” mistakes. I think FSU wins, but it’ll be scary and Blackman will end up with at least one interception.

2. Staying with Blackman, what does FSU need to do to help its young starter be successful?

Corey: A running game would help a lot. And I think Fisher will try to establish one, but I also don’t expect the FSU head coach to go into a shell. Because he knows N.C. State will be gearing up to stop the run to try to force the freshman QB to go win the game. Blackman could use a lot of help from his receivers – they were OK against Alabama but other than a couple of Auden Tate catches they didn’t make any special plays. They need to go make plays against the Wolfpack. Ryan Izzo should be a big help as well.

Wayne: FSU will have to be able to run the football if they’re going to help Blackman out. The Seminole coaching staff can’t put the entire game on Blackman’s shoulders in his first start and expect a good outcome. He has the tools to be very good, but he will have to be brought along.

Jordan: The Seminoles’ offensive line needs to keep Blackman upright and open plenty of holes for the run game. If FSU can’t run the ball – and teams are going to dare Blackman to beat them with his arm – then Blackman will be in trouble. The game needs to be as manageable as possible, which means FSU’s defense needs to be as good as it was against Alabama.

3. Clemson absolutely manhandled QB Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals last Saturday. What impresses you most about the Tigers?

Corey: It was all impressive. The defense was terrific and the offense was good, too. I thought Clemson would win but certainly not like that. And I think everyone watching that game thought to themselves, ‘Yeah, winning in Death Valley with a true freshman quarterback? That’s not going to be easy.’

Wayne: The defense. The Tigers lost a ton of players from last year’s team, and haven’t skipped a beat. The defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins are two of the best in the country and they set the tone for the rest of the defense, and the linebacker unit is even better than last year.

Jordan: It doesn’t seem like the Tigers have missed a beat without Deshaun Watson. Losing a fantastic quarterback is never easy to recover from, but Clemson looks like the same dominant group that won the national title last season. It makes FSU’s date with the Tigers that much scarier.